James Henry Mays was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

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Born in Morristown, Tennessee

Morristown, Tennessee

Morristown is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 29,137 at the 2010 United States Census. It is the principal city of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen and Jefferson counties...

, Mays attended the district schools.
He moved to Kansas in 1883 with his parents, who settled in Galena, Kansas

Galena, Kansas

Galena is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,085.-History:The city was named after the lead ore galena found here in 1877. The city was originally platted by the Galena Mining and Smelting Company and was to be known as Cornwall...

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He worked in the mines and as a lumberman.
He attended the Kansas State Normal School.
From 1893 to 1902 engaged in the life insurance business at Chicago, Illinois, Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....

, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
He was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1895.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 and commenced practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

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He moved to Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, in 1896 and to Utah in 1902.
Organized several industrial organizations.

Mays was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Sixty-fourth

64th United States Congress

The Sixty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

, Sixty-fifth

65th United States Congress

The Sixty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...

, and Sixty-sixth

66th United States Congress

The Sixty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1921, during the last two years of...

 Congresses (March 4, 1915-March 3, 1921).
He was not a candidate for reelection in 1920.
He retired to his stock ranch near Wendell, Idaho

Wendell, Idaho

Wendell is a city in Gooding County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,338 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wendell is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

, and died there on April 19, 1926.
He was interred in Gooding Cemetery, Gooding, Idaho

Gooding, Idaho

Gooding is the county seat and largest city of Gooding County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 3,384 at the 2000 census.The city is named for Frank R. Gooding, a local sheep rancher who became a prominent political figure in Idaho in the early 20th Century, serving as both Governor of...

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